Sectional necklace clasp



30, 1951 E. c. GRASSMANN, SR 2,539,777

SECTIONAL NECKLACE CLASP Filed March 17, 1948 2 g/Maw INVENTOR. .Edurl 6. fiwswwpzy fin,

Ai way Patented Jan. 30, 1951 SECTIONAL NECKLACE CLASP Edward C. Grassmann, Sr., Maplewood, N. J as-- signor to Harry Q Schick, Inc., Newark, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 17, 1948, Serial No. 15,345

This invention relates to improvements in clasps, and the invention has reference, more particularly, to clasps for necklaces, and especially for necklaces of the choker type.

Necklaces of the choker type, when worn, should :be sized to fit reasonably snug around the neck of the wearer. Since neck sizes of difierent individuals are likely to vary considerably, it not infrequently involves considerable trouble to fit a necklace to the neck of a given individual. Frequently the bead or jewel strings, which form the strands of the necklace, have to be disconnected from the necklace clasp, and beads or jewels thereof removed from the strings or added thereto so as to obtain proper lengths thereof to assure neck encircling fit of the necklace. Such methods of alterations are laborious and sometimes costly. Having this in View, it is an object of this invention to provide a novel clasp structure which can itself be easily shortened or lengthened to reduce or increase the circumferential size of the necklace, of which it forms a part, as may be required in any given case in order to fit the necklace for proper snug encirclement of the neck of a given wearer, thus avoiding necessity for disassembling and altering the bead or jewel strings of which the necklace is composed.

lhe invention has for a further object to provide a necklace clasp for the stated purposes which is of separable sectional form, whereby sections thereof may be added thereto or omitted therefrom so as to modify its overall length, and thereby modify the circumferential size of a necklace of which it forms a part; means being pro- .vided for detachably joining adjacent clasp sections one to the other.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

An ill strative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. l is a face view of a sectional necklace clasp as operatively assembled with the bead or 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-243) 2 ceive a coupling device which is shown about to be applied thereto.

Fig. 6 is an end elevational view of two contiguously disposed clasp sections, with the coupling device removed.

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of a clasp section.

Fig. '8 is a View similar to that of Fig. 1, but in part section, and showing the clasp structure reduced in length by the removal and omission of a clasp section.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the hereinabove described views to indicate catch elements thereof shown in elevation; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view, taken on line d-Q in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of two clasp sections contiguously disposed ready to recorresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, the necklace clasp according to this invention comprises two or more body sections including means to detachably join adjacent sections one to the other.

Each clasp section comprises a hollow box-like body which is formed by a front wall Hi, aback wall ll, side walls 12 and top and bottom end walls l3 and 14. Each side wall I2 is provided with a longitudinal slot 85 contiguous to the juncture of the side wall with the back Wall H. Each said slot 15 is closed at one end by the bottom wall 14, but is provided with an opposite open end it (see Fig. "7) which opens outwardly through the top end wall 13. Said top end wall 83 is provided adjacent and tangent to each side wall 12, and also tangent to the back Wall I l, with openings ll arranged to respectively communicate with the respective open ends it of the slots l5 of said adjacent side walls 52.

Each side wall !2 is further provided with suitably shaped apertures ['8 laterally extending from the slot l5 thereof. These apertures are adapted for the reception of and for cooperation with a detachable spring catch member 8 9. Since both side walls l2 of each clasp section are thus provided with a slot i5 and associated catch receiving aperture l3, one of the latter is always available, at each exterior exposed side of an assemblage of the clasp sections, for reception of a catch member l9.

In making up and sizing the clasp of this invention, two or more of the clasp sections (see Figs. 8 and 1) are assembled in side by side relation, withside walls l2 of adjoining clasp sections abutting. Devices are provided for detachably interlocking together the thus adjoined clasp sections, whereby to provide a unitary clasp body of selected length. Each device for thus detachably interlocking together adjoining clasp sections comprises a coupling plate 20, the longitudinal side marginal portions of which are turned or bent inward to provide longitudinal key portions 2|; the latter being preferably so formed that the cross-sectional shapes. thereof substantially correspond to the peripheral shapes of the openings ll with which the top end walls ll! of the clasp sections are provided. Said. key

clasp sections are provided, and thence downwardly through said slots 15 until the entered end of the coupling plate 20 is stoppedagainst the bottom walls M of the adjoining clasp sections. This inward movement of the coupling plate 23 carries the respective key portions ,2! i thereof downwardly through the respective top end wall openings I! and respectively into the interiors'of the respective clasp sections, and so that said-key portions respectively engage'the inner'faces of the abutted sidewalls I2 of the adjoining clasp sections, so asto grip said side walls therebetween. The length of the coupling'device is such that its outer or upper end, when the device is entered in and engaged with and between adjoining clasp sections. will lie substantially flush with the top walls 13 of the clasp sections, so that the coupling device is concealed within the latter. When a coupling device is inserted in adjoining clasp sections in the manner above described. said clasp sections will be securely and substantially rigidly interlocked together so as to be unitary. As above stated, two or more clasp sections may be thus easily and quickly joined together to form a unitary clasp body of selected length best adapted to couple together the meeting ends of a necklace so as to circumferentially size said necklace for fitted neck encirclement suitable for a given wearer of the necklace; and this without necessity for disassembling or altering the bead or jewel strings which compose the necklace.

The body of a necklace to be served by the novel sectional clasp of this invention may be of any desired kind, but is illustratively shown as comprising a plurality of parallel strands of beads, jewels or the like 22, the respective ends or" the supporting strings 23 of which are connected with a spring catch member [9. The catch members 9 are provided at their outer ends with'eye members 24 to which the ends of the strings 23 are suitably attached. The catch members I9 are each formed with a resilient catch tongue 25 which is doubled back from the free end of the catch member body so as to be divergently angular thereto. The catch tongues 25 are provided with finger pieces 26 of reduced width which extend outwardly from the free ends thereof, and which may be used to depress the catch tongues when it is desired to release and withdraw the catch members l9 from operative coupled engagement with outer clasp sections of an assemblage of the latter. When the catch members l9 are inserted through apertures 18 f the exposed sides of exterior clasp sections of an assemblage of the latter, the resilient catch tongues 25 will yield to inward movement of the catch members 19, and, after fully entering said exterior clasp sections, will spring upward so as to abut the inner faces of the engaged side walls of said clasp sections, thus detachably coupling the catch members with the clasp body formed by the assemblage of clasp sections. While it is preferable to employ a spring catch member at each end of the necklace body, it will be obvious that, if desired, but one end of the latter may be so provided, and, in such case, the opposite end of the necklace body may be permanently afifixed to the clasp body in any suitable manner.

It will be understood that the clasp sections may be variously shaped and ornamented, so long as the essential abutting relation of adjoining sections is such as to permit application of the couplingdevices thereto. Since other changes may also be'made in'the above described constructions without departing from the scope of. this invention as defined by the herefollowing claims, it is intended that the matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim? 1. A necklace clasp comprising a plurality of identical hollow body sections adapted to be assembled side by side in combinations of two or more sections to effect neck fitting adjustment of the necklace-clasp ensemble, each of said body sections being formed by front, back, side and top and bottom end walls, each side wall of each body section having a longitudinal slot contiguous to the back wall thereof and entering through the top end wall, said top end wall having an opening communicating with each side wall slot, and an elongated coupling plate for each two assembled body sections, said coupling plate being adapted for lengthwise insertion in the registering slots of abutting side walls of adjacent body sections, said coupling plate having its longitudinal side marginal portions turned forward to provide key portions formed to correspond in cross-sectional shape to the peripheral contour of each top end wall opening to permit insertion therethrough of said key portions, said coupling plate being adapted to grip the abutting side walls of the assembled adjacent body sections between the key portions thereof.

2. A necklace clasp as defined in claim 1, wherein each body section has an aperture in each side wall communicating with the longitudinal slot therein and extending laterally therefrom for engagement with a sprin 'catch member afilxed to an end of a necklace.

EDWARD C. GRASSMANN, SR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,033,774 Andres July 30, 1912 1,440,230 Mestekin Dec. 26, 1922 2,222,410 Grassmann Nov. 19, 1940 

